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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5321
February Session, 2022
LCO No. 2594
Referred to Committee on EDUCATION
Introduced by:
(ED)
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING CERTAIN RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
SCHOOL PARAEDUCATOR ADVISORY COUNCIL.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2022) (a) For the school year 1
commencing July 1, 2023, and each school year thereafter, each 2
paraeducator employed by a local or regional board of education shall 3
participate in a program of professional development. Each local and 4
regional board of education shall make available, annually, at no cost to 5
its paraeducators, a program of professional development that is not 6
fewer than eighteen hours in length, of which a preponderance is in a 7
small group or individual instructional setting. Such program of 8
professional development shall (1) be a comprehensive, sustained and 9
intensive approach to improving paraeducators effectiveness in 10
increasing student knowledge achievement, (2) focus on refining and 11
improving various effective instruction methods that are shared 12
between and among paraeducators, (3) foster collective responsibility 13
for improved student performance, (4) be comprised of professional 14
learning that (A) is aligned with rigorous state student academic 15
achievement standards, (B) is conducted among paraeducators at the 16 Raised Bill No. 5321
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school and facilitated by principals, coaches, mentors, distinguished 17
educators, as described in section 10-145s of the general statutes, or 18
other appropriate teachers, (C) occurs frequently on an individual basis 19
or among groups of paraeducators in a job-embedded process of 20
continuous improvement, and (D) includes a repository of best practices 21
for instruction methods developed by paraeducators within each school 22
that is continuously available to such paraeducators for comment and 23
updating, and (5) include training in culturally responsive pedagogy 24
and practice. Each program of professional development shall include 25
professional development activities in accordance with the provisions 26
of subsection (b) of this section. The principles and practices of social-27
emotional learning and restorative practices shall be integrated 28
throughout the components of such program of professional 29
development described in subdivisions (1) to (5), inclusive, of this 30
subsection. 31
(b) Local and regional boards of education shall offer professional 32
development activities to paraeducators as part of the plan developed 33
pursuant to subsection (b) of section 10-220a of the general statutes, as 34
amended by this act, or for any individual paraeducator. Such 35
professional development activities may be made available by a board 36
of education directly, through a regional educational service center or 37
cooperative arrangement with another board of education or through 38
arrangements with any professional development provider approved 39
by the Commissioner of Education and shall be consistent with any 40
goals identified by the paraeducators and the local or regional board of 41
education. 42
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 10-220a of the 2022 supplement to the 43
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 44
thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 45
(b) Not later than a date prescribed by the commissioner, each local 46
and regional board of education shall establish a professional 47
development and evaluat ion committee. Such professional 48
development and evaluation committee shall consist of (1) at least one 49 Raised Bill No. 5321
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teacher, as defined in subsection (a) of section 10-144d, selected by the 50
exclusive bargaining representative for certified employees chosen 51
pursuant to section 10-153b, (2) at least one administrator, as defined in 52
subsection (a) of section 10-144e, selected by the exclusive bargaining 53
representative for certified employees chosen pursuant to section 10-54
153b, and (3) such other school personnel as the board deems 55
appropriate. The duties of such committees shall include, but not be 56
limited to, participation in the development or adoption of a teacher 57
evaluation and support program for the district, pursuant to section 10-58
151b, and the development, evaluation and annual updating of a 59
comprehensive local professional development plan for certified 60
employees of the district. Such plan shall: (A) Be directly related to the 61
educational goals prepared by the local or regional board of education 62
pursuant to subsection (b) of section 10-220, (B) on and after July 1, 2021, 63
be developed with full consideration of the priorities and needs related 64
to student social-emotional learning and restorative practices, in 65
accordance with the provisions of section 10-148a, and student academic 66
outcomes as determined by the State Board of Education, (C) provide 67
for the ongoing and systematic assessment and improvement of both 68
teacher evaluation and professional development of the professional 69
staff members of each such board, including personnel management 70
and evaluation training or experience for administrators, and (D) be 71
related to regular and special student needs and may include provisions 72
concerning career incentives and parent involvement. The State Board 73
of Education shall develop guidelines to assist local and regional boards 74
of education in determining the objectives of the plans and in 75
coordinating staff development activities with student needs and school 76
programs. For the school year commencing July 1, 2023, and each school 77
year thereafter, such committees shall develop, evaluate and annually 78
update a comprehensive local professional development plan for 79
paraeducators of the district in accordance with the provisions of this 80
subsection. 81
Sec. 3. Section 10-148b of the 2022 supplement to the general statutes 82
is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 83 Raised Bill No. 5321
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1, 2022): 84
On or before July 1, 2013, the Commissioner of Education shall create 85
a program of professional development for teachers, as defined in 86
section 10-144d, paraeducators and principals in scientifically-based 87
reading research and instruction, as defined in section 10-14u. Such 88
program of professional development shall (1) count towards the 89
professional development requirements pursuant to section 10-148a and 90
section 1 of this act, (2) be based on data collected from student reading 91
assessments, (3) provide differentiated and intensified training in 92
reading instruction for teachers and paraeducators, (4) outline how 93
mentor teachers will train teachers in reading instruction, (5) outline 94
how model classrooms will be established in schools for reading 95
instruction, (6) inform principals on how to evaluate classrooms and 96
teacher and paraeducator performance in scientifically-based reading 97
research and instruction, and (7) be job-embedded and local whenever 98
possible. In the case of any certified individual or paraeducator who is 99
required to complete the reading instruction survey, pursuant to section 100
10-145r, as amended by this act, the program of professional 101
development for such individual or paraeducator shall be designed 102
using the results of such survey, in accordance with said section 10-145r, 103
as amended by this act. Not later than July 1, 2023, the commissioner 104
shall update such program of professional development to include 105
paraeducators. 106
Sec. 4. Section 10-145r of the general statutes is repealed and the 107
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 108
For the school year commencing July 1, 2014, and biennially 109
thereafter, the local or regional board of education that employs a 110
certified individual who holds an initial, provisional or professional 111
educator certificate with an early childhood nursery through grade 112
three or an elementary endorsement in a position requiring such an 113
endorsement in kindergarten to grade three, inclusive, shall require 114
each such certified individual to take a survey on reading instruction, 115
developed by the Department of Education that is based on the reading 116 Raised Bill No. 5321
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instruction examination approved by the State Board of Education on 117
April 1, 2009, or a comparable reading instruction examination with 118
minimum standards that are equivalent to the examination approved by 119
the State Board of Education on April 1, 2009. The department shall 120
design such survey in a manner that identifies the strengths and 121
weaknesses of such certified individuals in reading instruction practices 122
and knowledge on an individual, school and district level. Such survey 123
shall be administered at no financial cost to such certified individual. 124
The results of such survey shall be confidential and shall not be included 125
as part of any summative ratings for performance evaluations, 126
conducted pursuant to section 10-151b, and not be subject to disclosure 127
under the Freedom of Information Act, as defined in section 1-200, 128
except such results shall be (1) distributed to such certified individual 129
and the supervisor of such certified individual who is responsible for 130
designing and facilitating the program of professional development 131
conducted pursuant to section 10-148b, as amended by this act, for such 132
certified individual, and (2) used for the purpose of improving reading 133
instruction by developing student learning objectives and teacher 134
practice goals that will be included in the professional development 135
conducted pursuant to section 10-148b, as amended by this act, for such 136
certified individuals. For the school year commencing July 1, 2023, and 137
biennially thereafter, each local and regional board of education shall 138
require any paraeducator whose responsibilities include the provision 139
of reading instruction to students to take the survey on reading 140
instruction in accordance with the provisions of this section. 141
Sec. 5. (Effective July 1, 2022) The Commissioner of Education shall 142
convene a working group to develop recommendations for the creation 143
of a system of professional certification for paraeducators. Such working 144
group shall include, but need not be limited to, the School Paraeducator 145
Advisory Council, established pursuant to section 10-155k of the general 146
statutes, representatives from each state-wide bargaining representative 147
organization that represents school paraprofessionals with instructional 148
responsibilities, and representatives designated by organizations or 149
associations representing local and regional boards of education, 150 Raised Bill No. 5321
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regional educational service centers, superintendents and the interests 151
of students and paraeducators in the provision of special education 152
services. Not later than January 1, 2024, the commissioner shall submit 153
a report of its recommendations to the joint standing committee of the 154
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, 155
in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. 156
Sec. 6. Subdivision (10) of subsection (a) of section 10-76d of the 2022 157
supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is 158
substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 159
(10) (A) Each local and regional board of education responsible for 160
providing special education and related services to a child or pupil shall 161
notify the parent or guardian of a child who requires or who may 162
require special education, a pupil if such pupil is an emancipated minor 163
or eighteen years of age or older who requires or who may require 164
special education or a surrogate parent appointed pursuant to section 165
10-94g, in writing, at least five school days before such board proposes 166
to, or refuses to, initiate or change the child's or pupil's identification, 167
evaluation or educational placement or the provision of a free 168
appropriate public education to the child or pupil. 169
(B) Upon request by a parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent, 170
the responsible local or regional board of education shall provide such 171
parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent an opportunity to meet with 172
a member of the planning and placement team designated by such 173
board prior to the referral planning and placement team meeting at 174
which the assessments and evaluations of the child or pupil who 175
requires or may require special education is presented to such parent, 176
guardian, pupil or surrogate parent for the first time. Such meeting shall 177
be for the sole purpose of discussing the planning and placement team 178
process and any concerns such parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate 179
parent has regarding the child or pupil who requires or may require 180
special education. 181
(C) Such parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent shall (i) be given 182 Raised Bill No. 5321
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at least five school days' prior notice of any planning and placement 183
team meeting conducted for such child or pupil, (ii) have the right to be 184
present at and participate in all portions of such meeting at which an 185
educational program for such child or pupil is developed, reviewed or 186
revised, (iii) have the right to have (I) advisors of such person's own 187
choosing and at such person's own expense, (II) the school 188
paraprofessional assigned to such child or pupil, if any, and (III) such 189
child or pupil's birth-to-three service coordinator, if any, attend and 190
participate in all portions of such meeting at which an educational 191
program for such child or pupil is developed, reviewed or revised, and 192
(iv) have the right to have each recommendation made in such child or 193
pupil's birth-to-three individualized transition plan, as required by 194
section 17a-248e, if any, addressed by the planning and placement team 195
during such meeting at which an educational program for such child or 196
pupil is developed. 197
(D) Immediately upon the formal identification of any child as a child 198
requiring special education and at each planning and placement team 199
meeting for such child, the responsible local or regional board of 200
education shall inform the parent or guardian of such child or surrogate 201
parent or, in the case of a pupil who is an emancipated minor or eighteen 202
years of age or older, the pupil of (i) the laws relating to special 203
education, (ii) the rights of such parent, guardian, surrogate parent or 204
pupil under such laws and the regulations adopted by the State Board 205
of Education relating to special education, including the right of a 206
parent, guardian or surrogate parent to (I) withhold from enrolling such 207
child in kindergarten, in accordance with the provisions of section 10-208
184, and (II) have advisors and the school paraprofessional assigned to 209
such child or pupil attend and participate in all portions of such meeting 210
at which an educational program for such child or pupil is developed, 211
reviewed or revised, in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph 212
(C) of this subdivision, and (iii) any relevant information and resources 213
relating to individualized education programs created by the 214
Department of Education, including, but not limited to, information 215
relating to transition resources and services for high school students. If 216 Raised Bill No. 5321
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such parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil does not attend a 217
planning and placement team meeting, the responsible local or regional 218
board of education shall mail such information to such person. 219
(E) Each local and regional board of education shall have in effect at 220
the beginning of each school year an educational program for each child 221
or pupil who has been identified as eligible for special education. 222
(F) At each initial planning and placement team meeting for a child 223
or pupil, the responsible local or regional board of education shall 224
inform the parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil of (i) the laws 225
relating to physical restraint and seclusion pursuant to section 10-236b 226
and the rights of such parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil under 227
such laws and the regulations adopted by the State Board of Education 228
relating to physical restraint and seclusion, and (ii) the right of such 229
parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil, during such meeting at 230
which an educational program for such child or pupil is developed, to 231
have (I) such child or pupil's birth-to-three service coordinator attend 232
and participate in all portions of such meeting, and (II) each 233
recommendation made in the transition plan, as required by section 17a-234
248e, by such child or pupil's birth-to-three service coordinator 235
addressed by the planning and placement team. 236
(G) Upon request by a parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent, 237
the responsible local or regional board of education shall provide the 238
results of the assessments and evaluations used in the determination of 239
eligibility for special education for a child or pupil to such parent, 240
guardian, surrogate parent or pupil at least three school days before the 241
referral planning and placement team meeting at which such results of 242
the assessments and evaluations will be discussed for the first time. 243
(H) Each local or regional board of education shall monitor the 244
development of each child who, pursuant to subsection (a) of section 245
17a-248e, has been (i) referred for a registration on a mobile application 246
designated by the Commissioner of Early Childhood, in partnership 247
with such child's parent, guardian or surrogate parent, or (ii) provided 248 Raised Bill No. 5321
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a form for such child's parent, guardian or surrogate parent to complete 249
and submit to such local or regional board of education that screens for 250
developmental and social-emotional delays using a validated screening 251
tool, such as the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and the Ages and Stages 252
Social-Emotional Questionnaire, or its equivalent. If such monitoring 253
results in suspecting a child of having a developmental delay, the board 254
shall schedule a planning and placement team meeting with such child's 255
parent, guardian or surrogate parent for the purposes of identifying 256
services for which such child may be eligible, including, but not limited 257
to, a preschool program under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities 258
Act, 20 USC 1471 et seq. If a parent, guardian or surrogate parent of any 259
child referred for a registration on the mobile application or provided a 260
form to complete and submit, pursuant to subsection (a) of section 17a-261
248e, fails to complete such registration or complete and submit such 262
form after a period of six months from the date of such referral or 263
provision of such form, the board shall send a reminder, in the form and 264
manner determined by the board, to such parent, guardian or surrogate 265
parent to complete such registration or complete and submit such form. 266
The board shall send another reminder after a period of one year from 267
such referral or provision of such form if such registration remains 268
incomplete or such form is not submitted. 269
(I) Prior to each planning and placement team meeting for a child or 270
pupil in which an educational program for such child or pupil is 271
developed, reviewed or revised, the responsible local or regional board 272
of education shall provide (i) adequate notice of such meeting to the 273
school paraprofessional assigned to such child or pupil so that such 274
school paraprofessional may adequately prepare for such meeting, and 275
(ii) training, upon request of such school paraprofessional, on the role of 276
such school paraprofessional at such meeting. Following such meeting, 277
a copy of such educational program shall be made available to any 278
school paraprofessional who is assigned to such child or pupil or who 279
will be providing special education or related services under such 280
educational program to such child or pupil. 281 Raised Bill No. 5321
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2022 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2022 10-220a(b)
Sec. 3 July 1, 2022 10-148b
Sec. 4 July 1, 2022 10-145r
Sec. 5 July 1, 2022 New section
Sec. 6 July 1, 2022 10-76d(a)(10)
Statement of Purpose:
To establish a system of professional development for paraeducators, to
convene a working group to develop recommendations for the creation
of a system of professional certification for paraeducators and to require
adequate notice and training about planning and placement team
meetings and access to individualized education programs for
paraeducators in the provision of special education services.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]